Photoinduced hydrogen production with the system containing triethanolamine, zinc tetraphenylporphyrin tetrasulfonate, methylviologen and hydrogenase in various nonionic surfactant micellar was investigated. The effective photoreduction of methylviologen and an effective hydrogen production with hydrogenase were accomplished in the presence of various nonionic surfactants (Triton X-100, Triton X-305, Nonidet P-40, Triton N-101, Tween-20 and Tween-40) micellar system. Especially, the hydrogen production rate was increased by an addition of Tween-40 dramatically. (C) 2002 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.